Category Archives : Government

Los Angeles, CA (July 29, 2009) – The Chinese government often has the clout and muscle to prevent Hollywood films from being released in Asia, and can even discourage films from having an extended release in the West if they are perceived to threaten Chinese policy.

Films starring such big name stars as Richard Gere and Sharon Stone were boycotted by China after the actors expressed support for the Tibet Independence Movement. After Disney released Kundun, Martin Scorsese’s 1997 feature film about the Dalai Lama, the studio incurred the wrath of the Chinese government, and Disney films were banned for an indefinite period of time.

Recently, after a theatrical documentary film about the Dalai Lama and narrated by Harrison Ford entitled Dalai Lama Renaissance (www.DalaiLamaFilm.com) was released in theaters in Taiwan this summer and received front page positive press in the Chinese language Taiwanese newspapers, the Chinese government took keen notice.

The People’s Daily, a daily newspaper and media arm of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, quickly and sharply criticized Dalai Lama Renaissance in an article in its online edition.

The article, posted July 14th in the People’s Daily Online entitled “Western Movies Build Grand and Perfect Image of Dalai Lama,” argues that “in recent years, a wave of ‘Dalai Lama fever’ has appeared in the Western movie industry… describing the Chinese government’s peaceful liberation of Tibet as ‘cruel oppression,’ and depicting the Dalai Lama’s life in India as difficult… Some movies even advocate the Dalai Lama’s concept of [Tibetan] ‘independence.’”

Although the title of the article refers to “Movies,” the article exclusively focuses on Dalai Lama Renaissance. Referring to the film, which has been distributed in cinemas around the world, the article criticizes that “the part of the movie related to the peaceful liberation of Tibet was filled with political bias, reflecting the director’s ignorance and misunderstanding of Tibet’s history… The movie transforms the Dalai Lama into an omniscient sage, reflecting a ‘misunderstanding’ of the Dalai Lama’s image in the West… In fact, what these movies depict is just the ‘anesthesia’ given by the Dalai Lama to the West.”

The fact that the Chinese Communist Party’s main media organization has chosen to criticize the film may be a defensive reaction to the very positive press that Dalai Lama Renaissance received in the Chinese language media in Taiwan, where it premiered in front of sold-out audiences on June 1. And it may be an attempt to counteract any effect on readers in mainland China, who often have access to Chinese language news from Taiwan.

Taiwan’s best-selling weekly newspaper, E Weekly, gave the film a rating of 82, which is one of the highest ratings that a film has received in the past year in Taiwan. According to its Taiwanese theatrical distributor, Blockbuster of Taiwan (no relation to Blockbuster video in the United States), E Weekly regularly gives films far lower ratings. FTV, a television station in Taiwan, also reported that that the premiere of the film in Taiwan was very successful, with not an empty seat in the cinema, and that “many people were touched after watching the film.” The Taipei Times wrote that “the film rapidly grabs hold of you… an insightful documentary.”

Ironically, the Chinese Communist Party may feel most threatened by the idea brought up in the film regarding economic sanctions against China from the West. But despite this being a near unanimous suggestion by the Westerners in a scene in Dalai Lama Renaissance, the Dalai Lama discouraged the proposal.

The Taiwanese newspaper The Liberty Times points out that, in the film, “the Dalai Lama thinks that humanity is the most important thing in the world and economic sanctions might affect many Chinese citizens, thus he is hesitant whether such an approach is right.”

The People’s Daily also tries to discredit the producer-director of the film, Khashyar Darvich. In its article, the newspaper claims that the director is a “follower” of the Dalai Lama, and supports this assertion by referring to an interview where Darvich mentioned that he produced the film party for the opportunity to spend time with the exiled Tibetan leader.

“It’s interesting that the Chinese Communist Party refers to me as a follower of the Dalai Lama,” Darvich responded. “Although I respect the Dalai Lama as a man of peace, just as the Nobel Peace Prize Committee did by awarding him the Nobel Peace prize, and as do most governments around the world, I am not a Dalai Lama groupie. When I began the film, I was not very familiar with the Dalai Lama’s ideas. I think that his actions, and the respect that he garners around the world, speaks for itself.”

Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to discredit the film, Producer-Director Khashyar Darvich states that his production company, Wakan Films, has just signed an agreement to release Dalai Lama Renaissance unofficially into China itself, under the radar of the Chinese Government.

“My hope,” says Darvich, “is that the film will open a dialog between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, and that the average Chinese citizen will be able to see that the Dalai Lama is not such a bad guy and is interested in a solution to the Tibet issue that serves the highest good and benefits both the Chinese and Tibetans. I would be happy to attend a screening of the film in China and conduct a Q&A with Chinese audiences as a way to contribute to positive dialog.”

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South Gate of Zhongnanhai – Headquarters of Chinese GovernmentNote: Wall Banner on the left-hand side: “Long Live the Great Chinese Communist Party!”
Wall Banner on the right-hand side: “Long Live the Invincible Mao Zedong Thought!”

China’s civil servants exam attracts 1.3 mln applicants – More than 1.3 million people have been accepted to sit China’s 2011 national service examination to select government officials after online registration closed late Sunday.

They included 327,000 applicants competing for posts in central government and provincial-level organizations, said a statement on the website of the State Administration of Civil Service (SACS).

Of those, 191,000, or 58.4 percent, had at least two years experience working in “grassroots” positions, said the statement.

Another 794,000 were for vacancies at institutions of county-level or below, with 57.2 percent of them new college graduates.

Some 168,000 more applicants were awaiting for results from recruiting bodies who would decide by 6 p.m. Tuesday whether they were qualified to sit the exam.

The written test of the 2011 national civil service examination is to be held on Dec. 5 in major cities across China.

The annual nationwide test, sat by 927,000 people last year, continues to be seen as a route to a stable job and enviable benefits in China, where every year 6 million college graduates join the labor force.

The central government plans to recruit more than 16,000 public servants next year, 1,000 more than in 2010.

In a move to reform the civil service exam, the government has decided to offer more vacancies to applicants with at least two years of grassroots experience and to reserve vacancies for college graduates with experience as village officials, as well as workers and farmers.

Among this year’s qualified applicants, just 171 are workers and farmers running for reserved vacancies in customs, state taxation and railway police at county-level or below.

China embraces government websites boom
More than 45,000 government websites have been set up in China amid growing awareness of promoting information transparency, official figures showed. Websites had become an important platform for governments at various levels to disclose information and interact with the public, said Lu Shiche, chairman of China Information Industry Association at a forum here Sunday. China initiated the government website construction campaign in1999. The Ministry of Defense is the latest ministry to open its official website. In the three months after its opening on Aug. 20,total visits hit 1.25 billion. (Dec. 6, 2009 Xinhua)

News: China adds government department for charity activities.BEIJING, Sept. 11, 2008 — A new department to promote charity and social welfare was set up on Thursday under China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs. The department would deal with welfare lottery, charity activities, donations and welfare projects for the elderly, disabled and children, a ministry statement said. “We will work to boost the charity cause in China and contribute to the country’s social security system,” said Wang Zhenyao, the new department’s director. The department will draft rules on volunteers affairs and work on a nationwide volunteer network. It is also entrusted to make a regulation on running the welfare lottery and managing the welfare fund raised through the lottery. It will work out plans on how to spend the money on charity programs. (Xinhua)